weight 
Impartial Justice holds her equal Scales, 
Till stronger Virtue does the Weitfht incline. 
Prior, Ode to the Queen, st. 10. 
"When I said I would match you, I meant witli even 
weight ; you ride four stone lighter than I." "Very well, 
but I am content to carry weight.' Scott, Rob Roy, iii. 
4. Specifically, a body of determinate mass, in- 
tended to be used on a balance or scale for mea- 
suring the weight or mass of the body in the 
other pan or part of the scale (as the platform 
in a platform-scale). — 6. A system of units for 
expi'essing the weight or mass of bodies. Avoir- 
dupois weight is founded on tlie avoirdupois pound (see 
poH/kfi), which isetjual to 453.5926525 grams. It is divided 
into 16 ounces, and each ounce into 16 drams ; 112 (in the 
I'liited States commonly 100) pounds make a hundred- 
weight,and20humlredwe!ght8aton. (Hee(o»il.) The stone 
is 14 pounds. Troy weight is founded on the troy pound, 
which is 373.242 grama. It is divided into 12 ounces, each 
ounce into 20 pennyweights, and each pennyweight into 
24 grains. But formerly the pennyweight was divided into 
32 real grains. There was also an ideal subdivision of the 
grain into 20 mites, each of 24 droites, each of 20 peroits, 
each of 24 blanks. The goldsmiths also divided the ounce 
troy into 24 carats of 4 grains each for gold and silver, and 
into I.tO carats of 4 grains each for diamonds. Troy weight, 
formerly employed for many purposes, is now only used 
for gold and silver. Apothecaries' weight, still used in 
the United States for dispensing medicine, divides the 
troy ounce into 8 drams, each dram into 3 scruples, and 
each scruple into 20 grains, which are identical with troy 
grains. For weight in the metric system, see metric^ 
6. Pressure; burden; care; responsibility. 
A wise Chieftain neuer trusts the waight 
Of th' execution of a braue Exploit 
But vnto those whom he most honoureth. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Biirtjis's Weeks, i. 7. 
Sage he stood, 
With Atlantean shoulders, fit to bear 
The weight of mightiest monarchies. 
Milton, P. L., ii. 307. 
Why does that lovely Head, like a fair Flow'r 
Oppress'd with Drops of a hard-falling Show'r, 
Bend witli its Weight of Griefl C(j«i/reye, To Cynthia. 
7. In coal-mining, subsidence of the roof due 
to pressure from above, which takes effect as 
the coal is worked away, in long-wall working, 
the weight is usually of importance, as causing the coal, 
after it has been holed, to "get itself "—that is, to break 
down witbout the necessity of using powder, wedges, or 
something similar. Properly, "weiglit" is the cause and 
"weighting" the result, but the two words are often used 
with nearly the same meaning. 
8. Importance ; specifically, the importance of 
a fact as evidence tending to establish a con- 
elusion; efficacy; power of influencing the 
conduct of persons and the course of events; 
effective influence in general, in calculations by 
least squares, the weight assigned to an observation is its 
effect upon the result, expressed l)y its equivalence to a 
certain nunil)er of truncordant observations of standard 
accuracy. 
It happens many times that, to vrge and enforce the 
matter we speake of, we go still mounting by degrees and 
encreasing our speech with wordes or witli sentences of 
more waight one then another, & is a figure of great )»oth 
efficacie it ornament. . . . We call this figure by the 
fireeke originall, the Auancer or figure of encrease, be- 
cause eucry word that is spoken is one of more weight 
then another. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, j). 182. 
For well! aneughe they understood 
The matter was of weght. 
Battle of lialrimies (Cliild's Ballads, VII. 223). 
As men are in (|uality and as their services are in 
weight for the public good, so likewise their rewards and 
encouragements . . . might somewliat declare how the 
state itself duth accept their pains. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 81. 
If the people of Ireland were a united nation, it is 
conceiviildc that their demaiid for autonomy would have 
weight. Edinburgh Rev., CLXIII. 568. 
9. In mcfl., a sensation of oppression or heavi- 
ness over the whole body or over a part of it, as 
the head or stotmieh — Atomic weight. Seenfomic. 
— Dead, weiglit, tlie pressure produced by a heavy body 
supported in a state of rest by anything: used literally 
and figuratively. 
The huge dead weight of stupidity and indolence is al- 
ways ready to smother audacious en(|uiries. 
Leslie Stephen, Eng. Thonght, i. § 17. 
I feel so free and so clear 
By the loss of that dead weight. 
Tennyson, Maud, xix. 10. 
Fisherman's weight, ^aefixherman.— Gross weight, 
the wL'iglit before dednction for tare, impurity, or other 
similar eoi lectioJi : in contradistinction to net or suttle 
weight.— LSizy, net, tron weight. See the (lualifying 
words. - Mercurial-weight thermometer. Same as 
overfi^Hiiug theriiuiinrfpr (whhh see, under thermometer). 
— weight of an observation, the number of ordinary 
observations to whi.-h it i.s considered as equivalent in the 
deduction of the most prolialde value. Compare ilcf. 8.— 
Weight of a reciprocant. See reciprocant.- Weight 
of metal, the weight of iron capable of being thrown at 
(.ne di.seharge fnttn all the guns of a ship. — Weight Of 
wind, in organ-hiilding, the degree of compression in the 
air fnrnished by tlie bellows to a particular stop or group 
of stops. The usual pressure is sufficient to raise a c<dumn 
i»f water in a (J-tube about 3 inches. 
weight' (wat), r. f. [< m-i(fhn, ».] 1. To add 
or attach a weight or weights to; load with ad- 
ditional weight; add to tlie heaviness of. 
6872 
Some of the [balance] poles are weighted at both ends, but 
ours are not. Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor. 
2. In dyeing, to load (the threads) with miner- 
als or otlierforeign matters mixed with the dyes, 
for the purpose of making the fabrics appear 
thick and heavy. 
Barytes ... is used for weighting, that is, for giving 
weight and apparent body and finnness to inferior goods. 
O'yeill, Dyeing and Calico Printing, p. 74. 
3. In founding, to bind (the parts of a flask) to- 
gether by means of weights placed on the top, in 
order to prevent the bursting of the flask under 
the pressure of the liquid metal. 
weignt^ (wat), n. See wecht, 
weightily (Wa'ti-li ), adv. In a weighty manner. 
(a) Heavily; ponderously. (6) With force or Impressive- 
ness; with moral power. 
weightiness (wa'ti-nes), n. The state or qual- 
ity of being weighty; ponderousness; heavi- 
ness, literally or figuratively; solidity; force; 
importance. 
The weightiness that was upon their spirits and counte- 
nances keeping down the lightness that would have been 
up in us. T. Ellwood, Life (ed. Howells), p. 192. 
The weightiness of any argument. Locke. 
The weightiness of the adventure. Sir J. Hayward. 
weighting (wa'ting), n. [Verbal n. of weight^, 
r.] In coal-mining, subsidence or other distur- 
bance in a coal-mine due to "weight," or pres- 
sure of the overlying mass of rock. A mine in 
which such subsidence is taking place is said 
to bo *'on the weight." [Eng.] 
weightless (wat'les), a. [< tceight^ + -Jess.'] 1. 
Having no weight; imponderable; light, 
'i'hat light and weightless down. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 5. 33. 
2. Of no importance or consideration. 
And so [they] are oft-times eniboldned to roule upon them 
as from alofte very weake and weightlesse discourses. 
Bp. Hall, Apol. against Brownists, § 1. 
weight-nail (wat'nal), n. In ship-lndJding, a 
nail somewhat similar to a deck-nail, but not 
so fine, and with a square head, used for fasten- 
ing cleats, etc. 
weight-rest (wat'rost), n. A form of lathe- 
rest which is held firmly upon the shears by a 
weight hung beneath. E. II. Knight. 
weighty (wa'ti), a. [Early mod. l5. also waigh- 
iie, waijghtif ; < weight^ + -//!.] 1. Having con- 
siderable weight; heavy; ponderous. 
Yorke. I pray you, Vncle, giue me this D;igger. . . . 
Glo. It is too weighiie for your Grace to weare. 
Shak., Rich. III. (fol. 1023), iii. 1. 
2. Burdensome; hard to bear. 
He was beholding to the Romanes, that eased him of so 
waightie a burthen, and lessened his cares of gouernment. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 84. 
The cares of empire are great, and the burthen which 
lies upon the shoulders of princes very weighty. 
Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. viii. 
3. Important; serious; momentous; grave. 
Nor for no fauour suld promoue thanie 
To that most gret an<l wechty ciu'e. 
Lauder, Dewtic of Kyngis (E. E. T. S.), 1. 297. 
This secret is so weighty 'twill require 
A strong faith to conceal it. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 1. 144, 
My head is full of thoughts 
More weighty than thy life or death can he. 
Beau, and FL, Maid's Tragedy, iii. 2. 
4. Adapted to affect the judgment or to con- 
vince; forcible; cogent. 
Masking the business fr<:>m the c<immon eye 
For sxuidry weighty reasons. 
Shak., Macbeth, iii. 1. 126. 
Skillful diplomatists were surprised to hear the weighty 
observations which .at seventeen the prince made on pub- 
lic affairs. Maeaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. 
5. Grave or serious in aspect or purport. 
Things . . . 
That bear a weighty and a serious brow. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., Prol., 1. 2. 
She looked upon me with a weighty countenance, and 
fetched a deep sigh, crying out, "O the cumber and en- 
tanglements of this vain world t " 
Penn, Travels in Holland, etc. 
6. Authoritative; influential; important. 
The weightiest men in the weightiest stations. Sni/t. 
The gi-ave and weighty men who listened to him ap- 
proved his words. Bancroft, Hist Const., II. 257 
7t. Severe; rigorous; afflictive. 
We banish thee for ever. . . . 
If, after two days' shine. Athens contain thee, 
Attend our wev/htier judgement. 
5/iaA-.,T. of A.,iii. n. 102. 
weik, n. See wrrl-^. 
weilt, ". Snmo as u-ecl'^. 
Weil's disease. An infectious disease, having 
a course of about ten days, eharacterize<l by 
jaundice, muscular pains, enlargement of tlie 
weird 
liver and spleen, and fever. Also called acute 
infectious Jaundice. 
weily, adt,'. A dialectal form of welly. 
Well, I'm weily brosten, as they sayn in Lancashire. 
Swift, Polite Conversation, iL (^Davies.) 
Weingarten's theorem. See theorem. 
Weinmannia (win-man'i-a), n. [NL. (Lin- 
neeus, 1763), named after J. W. Weinmann^ a 
German apothecary.] A genus of polypetalous 
plants, of the order Saxifragacese and tribe Cu- 
lioniese. It is characterized by flowers with imbricated 
sepals, foiu* or five petals, eight or ten long stamens insert- 
ed on the base of a free disk, and snuiU oblong, commonly 
pilose seeds. There are about 60 species, principally ol 
tropical or south temperate regions, occurring in Amer- 
ica, Australia, New Zealand, and the Mascarene and Pacific 
islands. They are trees or shrubs with oppfjsite branch- 
lets, opposite coriaceous, often glandular leaves, odd-pin- 
nate with a winged rachis. The small white flowers are 
disposed in simple terminal or axillary erect racem^ fol- 
lowed by small coriaceous two-celled capsules splitthtg 
into two sharp boat-like valves. Some species afford a soft 
light wood used in carpentry and cabinet-work. A Peru- 
vian species yields an astiingent bark utilized in tannhig. 
W. tinctoria is employed in the Isle of Bourlwn in dye- 
ing red. W. pinnata, a tree with downy branches native 
from the West Indies and Mexico to Guiana, is known in 
Jamaica as bastard braziletto. W. Benthami, an evergreen 
tree of New Soutli Wales, reaches 100 feet high ; 4 others 
are Australian, and 2 occur in New Zealand, of which W. 
Sfjlvicola, a small tree with blackish bark, is now culti- 
vated in England, and W. raceinosa is known as the tawai- 
bark tree. 
weir, wear^ (wer), n. [The spelling iceir is 
irreg. and appar. Sc; the proper spelling is 
wear ; early mod. E. wear, wearCj were, some- 
times wire; < ME. wer (dat. were), < AS. wer, a 
weir, dam, fence, hedge, inclosure, = G. wehr^ a 
weir, dam, dike, = Icel. vorr, a fenced-in land- 
ing-place ; from the root of AS. werian, protect, 
guard, defend, etc., also fence, dam : see wear'^.'\ 
1 . A dam erected across a river to stop and raise 
the water, as for the purpose of taking fish, of 
conveying a stream to a mill, of maintaining the 
water at the level required for navigating it, or 
for purposes of irrigation. 
Half the river fell over a high weir, with all its appen- 
dages of bucks, and hatchways, and eel-baskets, into the 
Nnn's-pool. Kingdey, Veast, Iii. 
2. A fence, as of twigs or stakes, set in a 
stream for catching fish. Weirs differ from iK>unds 
principally in l>ei!ig constructed, in whole or in part, of 
brush or of narrow boards, with or without netting; and 
they are sometimes arranged so that at low tide a sand- 
bar cuts off tlu; escape of the fish, leaving them in a basin, 
and allowing thtnn to he taken at any time before a certain 
stage of rise of the next tide. Weirs are of two kinds, the 
shoal-water weir and the deep-ipater weir. The shoal-water 
weir, as illustrated in fig. 1, has a leader L, which is a row 
of stakes, generally woven with brush, leading out from 
the shore. Its extrendty is at the entrance of the big 
I, shoal-water wcir ; 2, deep-water weir. 
pound M. The big p«:iund is likewise of stakes filled with 
brush, and its entran(;e 30 feet wide. This leads by a pas- 
sage 5 feet wide into the little i>ound N, and this into the 
pocket O, which is a frame about 16 feet long and 10 feet 
wide, with sides of netting, and a board floor. Tlie flsh 
following the shore meet the leader, turn and follow it 
into the big iMumd ; liere they follow the side around un- 
til they pass into the little pound, and from that into the 
pocket, where they are left by the receding tide and taken 
out at low water. The deep-water weir (fig. 2) has a sim- 
ilar leader A, extending to the entrance of the big pound, 
or heart, B, IJeyond which are the small pound C and the 
bowl D, into which the fish finally go. The fttrm of the 
inclosures in both cases leads the flsh constantly forward, 
and they rarely or never find their way back through the 
passages. In l>oth figures E represents the land or high- 
water mark, and F the low-water mark. 
The day following we came to Chippanum, whore the 
people were fled, but their wires afforded vg fish. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 90. 
Deep-water weir. See def. 2.— Dry weir, a weir on a 
flat which is leftbaie at tl il>-tide.— Half-tide weir, a fish- 
weir so placed that the flsh taken can l>e reinoved at half- 
ebb or half-tide, without waiting for low tide, as is gener- 
ally done.— Lock- weir, a weir having a lock-chaml»er and 
gates. E. H. Knight— Shoal-water welr. See def. 2.— 
Slat weir. See slats. 
weiranglet, n. Same as warriangle. Willvghhy. 
weird (werd), n. [Formerly also wierd ; < ME. 
werde, wierde, wirde, uyrde, wvrde^ < AS, wyrd, 
wird, nurd, destinv. fate, also, personified, one 
of the Fates (= OS. u-urth = MD. trrd, wrth = 
OHG. wurt, MHG. wurth, fate, death, = Icel. 
urthr, fate, one of the three Norns or Fates), < 
n-corthan (pret. pi. trurdon), etc., become, hap- 
pen : see worth^. The spelling weird is Sc] 1. 
Fate; destiny; luck. 
